Reflections
CHURCH INTEREST GROUPS
By Pete Hammond
I used the following breakout groups at the end of a men’s church retreat recently. It was a way for the conference attendees to connect with each other around shared concerns. My desire was for the conference to foster some relationships that might help each attendee with follow-through and action.
I described the options (listed below) and then went through the list again with a show of hands acknowledging "I might join x, y or z" so that we could cancel those with no interest and expand to two tables where attendance might exceed good discussion and participation numbers. The only rules were that each person would get 3-5 minutes so that each could share. I labeled the paper tablecloths with a phrase describing each topic for easy identification. My assumption was that groups would self determine flow and coordination (You could prepare facilitators in advance too). I also announced that the pastoral staff and I would rove and be available for questions and help if the group was stuck. I included in my roving a gentle interruption to ask whether each member had a chance to comment in order to not let any one person dominate.
The theme options we offered were:
- Faith on the job difficulties.
- Being a better spouse.
- Difficulties with adult siblings.
- Parenting.
- Basic questions about Christianity.
- Drafting a letter to someone you have hurt.
- Relating to parents and other relatives (uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, etc.)
- Drafting a personal 30 Day Covenant - "In light of this conference I will...."
- Take a walk alone to talk with God (This was important for the older men).
The two largest groups were 1, 2 and 4. We also set a closing time to reconvene for final announcements and prayer together. This was important to clarify for those who would take a walk and to firm up that we would finish on time. The conference leader announced when they had three minutes left.
Closing announcements mentioned the option for continuing this process. He inquired about interest in a men’s breakfast, asking for a show of hands to assess potential. It was good. I recommended that they focus each breakfast on one of the above topics and announce it in advance so folks could choose. I also suggested that the breakfast series be for a defined period of time, one to three months, and quit. Then you can assess interest and not keep something going that has fulfilled its purpose.
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